Why does Thai cuisine prefer fork and spoon?

One of the astonishing Thai cuisine cultures is the use of forks and spoons instead of chopsticks. This is contrary to what you’d expect considering the Chinese had invented chopsticks long time ago they spread really fast to Japan, Korea, Vietnam and other South East Asian countries.

However, for the Thais, they have remained adamant about using chopsticks and instead use a fork and a spoon. But that doesn’t end there; there is a classical way of using the fork and spoon. The fork is for pushing food to the spoon, that’s it. Unlike the West, no knives are allowed near the table as they are considered weapons. But a sensible explanation is that knives are not necessary since Thai recipe foods are often cut into little pieces.

In the past, Thais used to eat with their bare hands. This was until a meeting between the French and the king of Thailand by then, King Rama IV. Folklore has it that the king liked the use of a fork and spoon and adopted it. This is quite creepy considering the Thais had already rejected the use of chopsticks missionaries had brought to Thailand a while ago.

However, the truth is that Thailand had strongly repelled colonization and didn’t want to do anything with the foreign culture. In fact, it has never been colonized by a European power. But in the long run, they had to open to the world, and as one way of showing their commitment to interacting with the rest of the world, the king adopted the eating culture of a fork and spoon. That’s how Thais ended up using forks and spoons as opposed to chopsticks. But it is also rumored that he disliked the idea of a knife around the table for obvious reasons!

But still, chopsticks have a place in Thai restaurants that serve noodles. However, you will be considered Farang (foreigner) if you are seen using chopsticks.